When I get clear, the path to well-being is clear

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Not everything that is faced can be changed;
but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

~ James Baldwin ~

I am on a diet. Yup. The wedding looms and I stepped onto the scale and scared myself! How did I let 10 pounds creep back on?

But wait! Maybe they didn’t creep on. Excess pounds are sneaky little devils. Maybe they just sort of snuck in while I was sleeping and attached themselves to my body in the dark of night with the stealth of barnacles clinging to a whale.

Oh right, Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

Time to face the truth. They didn’t sneak in during the night and they’re not some seaworld crustacean clinging to my flesh.

They are self created examples of me not paying attention. They are the result of me not balancing what I was eating with how much energy I was expending. When food in is greater than energy out, weight adds up to greater than what I want, need, is healthy for me or even desirable.

Oh, and then there’s the fact that I might have been, ok, no ‘might have been’ about it, I was not eating what was healthy, nurturing and good for me. I was all out into junk!

In times of stress, or when I’m tired, I am more apt to think the things that are not good for me are perfect. They call to me, inveigling their way into my lesser goodness-self, shadowing my inner wisdom with thoughts of, “it’s ok. you’re tired. You’ve worked so hard. You deserve a break. Worry about it tomorrow. Right now, you need to focus on the task at hand and not think about what’s good for you. Why beat yourself up for not eating healthily? Why not let yourself have a little give and take?”

Yea. Right.

The give and take becomes more giving in to the unhealthy and taking on the pounds and inches!

Just to be clear. I am not beating myself up about 10 extra pounds.

What I am doing is getting clear and focused on what I want. And going public with my belief I deserve only the best.

When I get clear on what I want, the path to what I want is clear and less becomes doing more of what I want in my life.

I want to be healthy. I want to feel healthy. I want to feel energized, excited about everyday. I want to wake up every morning feeling like this truly is the best day of my life to live well and live fully in the rapture of now.

That means finding value in all things.

It means being truly committed to living my best life yet. It means focusing on what I can change, and letting the things I can’t change go.

I can’t change the fact I allowed myself to indulge in bad behaviour for the past couple of months or so.

Just as I can’t change the past, I can’t change the fact I am 10 pounds heavier today because I quit doing the things I know create balance and harmony in my being present in this world everyday.

What I can change is what happens now. What I do next.

It means, I can change my focus on what happened, and turn to what I can do, now.

That means, loving myself completely and doing the things I know nurture and nourish me into well-being. It means loving me as I am present today and moving with grace and ease into eating well, exercising, and meditating — All three of those very important foundational elements of my daily routine have been missing from my daily routine for awhile.

Time to….

Begin again.

Always begin again.

Namaste.

 

21 thoughts on “When I get clear, the path to well-being is clear”

  1. Going public is a great way of holding ourselves accountable! I’m right with you Louise…. literally! I came back from Florida and indulgence. Time for a new routine and focus…. bringing Spring into our step eh?!?
    xo

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  2. going public isn’t a solution, any more than staying private is

    weight?

    wait!

    aren’t those African kids on TV .. in those charity advertisements – they are all thin

    while exercise, lifestyles and ‘whole picture’ thinking is important – eating less is the best solution methinks; not dramatically, just few calories a day than we burn

    if your goal is fitting a dress on a given day, crash-dieting might be the solution

    but if your goal is living long, well and healthy … than the balance, the harmony, you speak of is the better goal

    having done the yo-yo in weight department myself I’ve found the best sustainable solution is a mindset shift – seeing myself as a thinner, fitter and healthier person – not as an overweight, out of shape and pear shaped middle-ager

    this process is slow-thinner, gradual reducer and steadily healthier mission with slip-ups along the way

    cut yourself some slack on the short term deadline would be my advice

    for the longer term – I’ll advocate for a significant mind-shift

    selfishly, I’ll count myself among those who want you around for a very very long time

    and we want you well, healthy and spunky

    so … don’t paint yourself into a corner – paint yourself a path to healthier, paint a path of fitter and that path will have you running down it for a long time

    m

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    • Oh my Mark. I’m not sure but I think possibly women and men see weight differently. I have so many girlfriends who acknowledge that when they see photos of themselves when they were younger and/or slimmer, they are surprised to see — they weren’t as ‘fat’ as they thought they were.

      My goal is to paint back into balance. And thank you — I want to run down it for a long time too! 🙂

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  4. I love that opening quote, it’s so perfect!! It is hard when you have so much going on to focus on yourself, and how you feel. But, getting back on track starts with one little step.

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  5. I must admit that I cringed when I read the opening words “I am on a diet” (diets NEVER work long-term) and was happy that you ended up with a lifestyle choice instead. I can offer two suggested readings. One is explore the topic of the ‘blue zone’. These are cultures in the world who live the longest. You will see it is not all about diet and exercise but rather healthy eating, connections, active lifestyles (as opposed to going to the gym) and relaxation. The second is the ‘french paradox’. Why do the french have lower rates of heart disease and obesity than the rest of us in the western world? Skip over the earlier theories that say it is because they drink a lot of wine. The suggested reason is they only eat meals. They do not snack. And they advocate strict portion control. They do indulge and feel no guilt because they only indulge in small amounts. And they make eating a social event rather than the normal western lifestyle of eating on the run. I could go on for hours. It is my favourite topic. This is coming from someone who personally has not quite got the balance correct and I am working on it too… ALL the time.

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  7. Diet is a four letter word and I don’t like it I have spent far to much of my life on a bloody diet and I am still fat so no more diets for me I am going to love myself and enjoy my life because who knows tomorrow I could get hit by a bus……………just saying

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  8. I have been on diet ever since I had put on the essential weight that comes with babies, who grew up to see their mom as healthy and slim (almost) as the old pictures! To be on diet, according to me has been eating healthy food, less fat, more veggies and fruit and eating a moderate portion and that includes my regular chocolates, desserts and ice creams too.

    Wishing you healthy eating Louise.

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  9. That certainly hits home for me. I’ve noticed for a long time not only for myself but many seekers I’ve known that one of the great paradoxes is how often we know what we need to do to feel good or better and then we don’t do it. Sometimes, like your story, it’s stress or time crunch or, like me, not feeling well but sometimes– at least for me –it’s also self sabotage. Interesting stuff to explore.
    I like the way you pull yourself gently back onto a healthier path.

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  10. Louise…… always begin again and again. Im fighting to stay fit I hate exercise but I know at my age it needs to be a part of my day. Like you when I am stressed I turn to comfort foods too. Next week I will do better…….kids says mum you said that last week and I rest my case.

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